StaceyPowers Posted June 7, 2025 Posted June 7, 2025 What are some relatively obscure games that played a significant role shaping the mainstream video game industry? My example would be old school text-based MUDs from Iron Realms Entertainment. So far as I know, those were some of the first games that pioneered the detested freemium/pay-to-win model.
Scorpion Posted June 10, 2025 Posted June 10, 2025 Certainly! Obscure titles like "Papers, Please," "Undertale," and "Braid" significantly influenced the industry. They introduced innovative storytelling, mechanics, or design ideas that inspired mainstream developers, shaping modern gaming by emphasizing creativity, player choice, and narrative depth.
killamch89 Posted June 10, 2025 Posted June 10, 2025 I usually suggest story-driven games like Life is Strange because they prioritize narrative over complex mechanics, letting new players focus on the medium's storytelling potential.
killamch89 Posted June 10, 2025 Posted June 10, 2025 I usually suggest story-driven games like Life is Strange because they prioritize narrative over complex mechanics, letting new players focus on the medium's storytelling potential.
Anders Posted June 26, 2025 Posted June 26, 2025 Not really obscure any more, but I think the small indie game Vampire Survivors made a huge impact on the industry. After the huge success of Vampire Survivors, survivor-likes have become it's own genre, and there are a thousand different survivor-games on Steam now.
